Scorched Earth against Palin is a Rove Trap - I am dead serious.

[denem]

As many have remarked , Palin will energise the Fundie base (do you see now, how stupid that argument was against Hillary), but lose independents. McCain's prospects look dimmer than ever.

But a slash and burn offensive against Palin will deliver the 'Values Voters; in droves. In local contests, where voters are less concerned about mavericks, but outraged by, say, the meme that Democrats are attacking a Downs syndrome baby, the loss of Democratic gains could be dramatic.

I trust Team Obama on this, one way or the other. But I see Rove's hand in nudging GOP further towards theocracy.

PS I can't type for to save my life.

[WeDidIt]

1. Obama won't slash and burn

The media and blogosphere will do it for them.

She will be crushed under the weight of what's coming.

[Colobo]

4. She'll fold under pressure.

[denem]

7. I'm sure, but how do questions about a Downs Syndrome kid help?

'Dems are attacking the kid' etc. It's Fundie dynamite.

[Colobo]

9. We don't need to go there.

[WeDidIt]

13. What attacks? There aren't any attacks.

And should the speculation about the nature of that child's birth be revealed to be true, it's an attack on her character, not the child.

Admittedly, perhaps the greatest risk for Down Syndrome is age of the mother, however, there are other risks that can result in Down Syndrome and these risks have nothing to do with the age of the mother.

There is doubt about her pregnancy story. The scrubbing of photographs at the time is questionable.

It's not something that deserves a lot of attention at this time, however, if there is an issue here, it will come out and that will happen prior to November.

[Warren Stupidity]

14. Questions about her hypocrisy are entirely valid.

She exercised her right to choose to have this baby and would deny every other woman the same right.

[Epiphany4z]

5. yep

he has had to take on Hillary ...I am sure he learned from that and lets face it this woman is no Hillary.

and Hillary didn't spend her life battering that ceiling..getting those 18 cracks to watch this lil nobody take womens issues backward 50 yrs.

[npincus]

2. big miscalculation.

Obama is a gentleman; so is Biden. Palin doesn't get a pass because she's a woman. If Hillary hadn't gotten so close to winning the nomination, and set the bar as high as she did, our job (going after Palin) would be much harder.

This selection was an enormous miscalculation on their part. They have angered and insulted women everywhere by selecting a neophyte and daring to comapre her accomplishments to HRC's.

[DailyGrind51]

3. It WAS a cynical move of the Rovian kind!

[DainBramaged]

6. Is this the same as 'don't jingle keys at the DEM Convention"?

:eyes:

[denem]

8. No Dammit - its bacause I wan't as many senators as possible

for Obama. Disagreeing about tactics, does not make me a closet republican.

[BeyondGeography]

10. Raving about Rove is a Rovian trap

[Skwmom]

11. No, underestimating the risk and going easy on that ticket b/c it includes a woman is the trap.

[jimlup]

17. Queen's Gambit (Declined?)

We need to handle this Palin carefully.

If you play chess, I'd call the republican strategy the "Queen's Gambit". It generally produces an interesting but fair game. In chess the strongest opposition strategy is to decline the gambit. I would agree with the author of this thread that
"The Queen's Gambit Declined" may be our best strategy!

[Skwmom]

21. If team Obama doesn't plan an all out offensive, they will be left

wondering in Nov what happened and Rove and his new best buddy will be laughing with glee.

[jimlup]

27. yes, but ...

I believe Obama is very strong and will win this game. Let's go for the whole win! Not the unprotected pawn. I'm sure that they will take her out so fast she won't know what hit her... when the TIME IS RIGHT!

Patience my friends! Patience!

[blogslut]

12. Who needs to scorch the Earth?

We're just a bunch of anonymous people on a message board. The Obama campaign isn't going to do the things you fear. Governor Palin will fail on her own. Of this, I am sure.

[jimlup]

18. but today we need to think about what we say tomorrow!

We talk to others and what we discuss becomes a strategy of base supporters. The people we interact with and have discussions with in real life or on other boards will pay attention to what we say. We should think carefully about our strategy in open debate not on this forum!

[blogslut]

22. I suppose

I'm not worried that DU is giving away strategery gold. Personally, I rather like that we put things out there for the world to see. Our public discourse helps to expel any unpleasantness by exposing it to light.

We're not the party big wigs and that's the point. We're the people. The voters. What we express in honest, unfiltered and no different than what takes place around water coolers everywhere, except with more cursing and bonus cat macros. :)

[jimlup]

26. Right but...

my point is that when we engage other voters on other open forums we should consider what we say carefully. I'm all for vetting ideas on DU. That seems like the point of DU.

I post to runnersworld.com. The discussions there often degeneratea into childish name calling (particularly by the McCain supporters, who get mad because they lose all the arguments) but sometimes a genuine undecided voter is probably reading the posts. I say, let's not give the repukes red meat. Palin is an offered pawn. Always be very careful when snatching an seemingly uncovered pawn!

[Warren Stupidity]

15. Once again, all attacks are off the table.

Not only can we not attack McCain on every negative quality he has, but we must also treat Palin with kid gloves. How predictable we are.

I know, Obama should run an informative 'librul issue of the week' campaign. All positive and sunshine, and stand above the barrage of shit-soaked mud coming from the other side.

[zulchzulu]

16. Fuck the idea that we should walk in shivers from the likes of a treasonous lout like Rove

I say stomp on any and all opportunities to not only prove that McCain is NOT a war hero AND that Sarah Palin is a theoocratic, unqualified EXTREMIST.

This is our country at stake. All those who can shoot to kill politically need to lock and load.

527s are your friend. YouTube videos are your friend. Taking it to the street and SQUASHING the McCain camp is what needs to be done.

[jimlup]

19. Queen's Gambit (Declined)

I have to admit, we should take our cue from the campaign. Let them decide if they want to accept or decline this McCain gambit!

[Demeter]

20. There Is No Reason To Speak Out About Palin--Her Record Speaks For Itself

Just keep hammering McCain, and his predeliction for beuty pageant winners....

[democrat_patriot]

23. Ignore. Her. Completely. She's a joke.

And I mean no offense towards women (or ALaskans). She's an empty pantsuit.

Treat her with 'respect' (or slight condescension) and hit Mcain hard.

[JohnnyLib2]

24. Agreed. Symbolic of the voters mobilized in 2000 and 2004.

Almost a prototype.

Rec.

[highplainsdem]

25. The smear that also smears her daughter is especially dangerous for Democrats.

And will backfire most with soccer moms.

I've been doing some checking and I can't find ANY evidence so far that this smear (suggesting Palin's youngest baby is really her daughter's) showed up anywhere, including online, until she was named McCain's running mate. And there were a lot of online attacks on her back in early March simply because she was pregnant, attacks ranging from people saying she shouldn't have gotten pregnant while governor to others suggesting she got pregnant only to help her approval rating. But not the slightest hint she wasn't really pregnant. There were also messages from people who realized how long Palin had been wearing dark, baggy clothes and scarves before the announcement, without anyone wondering what that might mean.

Without any evidence to show there were any rumors before a few days ago that perhaps the child was her daughter's, then those new rumors can be spun all too easily by Republicans as originating in the Democratic campaign.

You don't go after a candidate's children with smears like these. This kind of charge can backfire disastrously unless there is real proof, and so far there's nothing close to proof.